Simple Things and Stories
by Initial A
Summary: Thor/Jane. It's the simple things in life that make it easier.


**Simple Things and Stories**

**By: InitialA**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Marvel universe.**

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"I prefer your home in the desert," Thor commented.

Jane settled their cups of hot cocoa on the table, before settling herself next to him on the couch they'd brought out on the balcony. "I miss it too. But it works out better for everyone, really, living out here."

Thor took his cup, his hands dwarfing it, and took a sip. Jane watched with amusement at the look of delight on his face. "I like this even more than the coffee!"

"Well there's more in the kitchen if you want it."

They smiled at each other, the unspoken joke between them. Instead of the stars, they watched the lights flicker on and off, to and fro, through the streets and buildings of Manhattan. They made up stories about the people who lived and worked in the city that never slept, trying to outdo one another, but Jane ended up laughing when Thor would inevitably work in Asgardian customs that did not exist on Earth. She had to explain why such things did not translate across worlds, and he was quiet for a while, pondering the differences of their homes. Jane went to refill their cocoa, and when she came back, he still had that thoughtful look on his face. "Thor?"

"It is interesting, the differences between our realms… but how similar we are all the same. We appear similar in form, we honor similar codes of chivalry and conduct. We feel similar emotions and express them the same. We love, we mourn, we celebrate. And yet your people view mine with fear."

"Not all of them do. I don't," Jane protested.

"When we were seen as gods, we were feared and respected, yet we are almost the same. We have merely managed to command what you are not capable of commanding, not yet."

"Were your people like mine then?"

"Yes, many eons ago. Long before my father's father's father. We learned. Your people are still so tiny, so new at life and learning to live among yourselves… you will master what we are capable of, in a few centuries of your time. You need merely to stop focusing on what does not matter, your petty squabbles and fears."

Jane picked at a dislodged thread in the couch. "Some fears aren't so petty… Death, oblivion. Losing loved ones."

Thor reclined. "When you learn to appreciate all that life has to offer, it becomes easier. I find that the most rewarding parts of life are often the simplest."

"Oh is that why I catch you napping so often?" Jane teased.

He grinned at her. "A well-rested body is one that is fit for battle, Jane Foster."

She shoved him playfully. "You just want to while away the time until I stop working, Thor Lazyson."

"There is a saying about working too much, is there not?"

"If you keep me from working more than you already do, Mr. Stark will be very unhappy with me."

Thor shrugged. "From what I gather from the Man of Iron's woman, he does not do much in the way of work himself. Her face turned an interesting shade of purple when I mentioned it before. I believe you would be more than safe from any wrath he may feel."

"Miss Potts is even scarier when she's upset…" Jane murmured, remembering Pepper's wrath towards Darcy just the week before.

"I will talk to the daughter of Potts. I have, as Darcy says, a certain charm about me," he grinned as she smacked his arm.

"You're lucky you have that charm, buster," she told him, wagging a finger in front of his nose before wriggling into his embrace.

They lay there for a time, the city breathing through the crisp fall night. Jane started to feel her eyelids get heavy. "Thor?"

"Mm?"

"Can you tell me about Asgard again?"

He recognized the tone of her voice, full of sleep. She often asked him to tell her tales of the other realms when she was tired; he believed it helped her sleep better. "My realm lies far beyond Midgard, above the clouds in a shining city made of crystal and gold, with treacherous mountains and endless forests in which to hunt, and to bring adventure and great deeds to your name. To reach it you must cross the rainbow bridge, the Bifrost; truly it is forged from rainbows trapped in crystals, and their many lights reflecting from the sea and onto the city's towers…"

He went on, and as he talked, he felt Jane slip into sleep, a smile upon her face. He brushed a strand of hair from her face and kissed her gently.

Simple things indeed.


End file.
